Opportunities

Throughout the year, there are always many opportunities available to undergraduates to enhance your knowledge and experience in the field of Economics.  Below are different types of opportunities currently available.

The Ec Department runs an Economics Research Assistant Program (RAP), which pairs students with faculty for semester-long RA positions. Please check out details on our website (and make sure you are signed up on our listserv to hear when RAP is accepting applications).

Types of Opportunities:

Jobs, Research Analysts or Assistantships, Internships  For Seniors  Funding Opportunities  Other Interesting Opportunities

Jobs, Research Analysts or Assistantships, Internships

• Summer Internship: The Federal Reserve Board's Internship Program is designed to provide valuable work experience for undergraduate and graduate students. The internship program is a paid full-time summer internship lasting 10-12 weeks. Deadline: varies (posted 8/21/2026)
• Various Research Assistantships at the National Bureau of Economic Research
• Pathways to Research and Doctoral Careers (PREDOC): A one-stop place where undergraduate students from any backgrounds can find all the information they need, including available RA job positions around the country, educational material to prepare for e.g. data tests, guidance on courses to take, testimonials, and more.

For Seniors

• Pre-Doctoral Fellowship: Economics professors David Laibson (Harvard University), James Choi (Yale University), and John Beshears (Harvard Business School) seek a full‐time predoctoral fellow to start in mid-June 2027 until mid-July 2028, with a potential second-year renewal, involving work on theoretical and empirical research related to behavioral economics, decision making, and household finance. Deadline: rolling basis (posted 8/28/2026)
• Research Assistants: The Economic Studies Program at the Brookings Institution seeks several full-time research assistant positions beginning in summer 2027. These are two-year appointments for recent graduates interested in economic and public policy research. Deadline: 10/16/2026 (posted 8/28/2026)
• Research Assistant, The Hamilton Project: The Economic Studies Program at the Brookings Institution seeks a research assistant to help develop and execute an overall policy agenda and policy strategy as a member of The Hamilton Project team. Deadline: rolling basis (8/28/2026)
• Research Analyst: Federal Reserve Bank of New York seek applicants for the two year Research Analyst (RA) Program. At the direction of economists and senior research analysts or research associates, the Research Analyst will help prepare analyses, reports, and other materials for policy and research projects. Deadline: 9/14/2026 (posted 8/28/2026)
• Research Professional: The University of Chicago Booth School of Business seeks Research Professionals to work with faculty to collect data, maintain databases, conduct statistical analysis, and provide other support associated with faculty research. This position is expected to last one year with the possibility of a second. Deadline: none given (posted 8/28/2026)
• Research Analyst: Econic Partners seek applications for the 2027 Research Analyst role to work on project teams and assist with gathering, processing, and analyzing data; complete qualitative research; preparing client-deliverable workproduct. Deadline: 9/24/2026 (posted 8/28/2026)
• Research Assistants: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System seeks a new cohort of Research Assistants (RAs) to work alongside PhD economists, assist with original economic research, and provide critical support for policy analysis. The RA position is a two-year program. Deadline: 10/15/2026 (posted 8/21/2026)
• Research Fellow: Stanford Law School seeks full-time pre-doctoral research fellows to assist Stanford Law School faculty, including economist Dr. John J. Donohue, in conducting policy-relevant empirical social science research. Fellowships begin in Summer 2027. Deadline: 10/23/2026 (posted 8/20/2026)
• Pre-Doctoral Researcher: MIT Professor Amy Finkelstein is looking to hire highly skilled and motivated full-time predoctoral researchers to begin in the spring or summer of 2027 and to work for two years as part of her research team. The position will entail close collaboration and assistance with all stages of empirical research in health economics. Deadline: rolling (posted 8/20/2026)
• Pre-Doctoral Researcher: Nathaniel Hendren is recruiting a Predoctoral Researcher based at MIT in Cambridge, MA to conduct economic analysis starting in summer 2027. The Predoctoral Researcher will work directly with Professor Hendren on research topics in applied micro-economics and empirical welfare analysis. Deadline: 10/4/2026 (posted 8/20/2026)
• Analyst: Greenmantle seeks a full-time Analyst to analyze global macroeconomic trends and commodity markets. The analyst will support Greenmantle’s different research teams that cover individual countries and markets across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. The ideal candidate will have strong data analysis skills and a keen interest in macroeconomics and history. Deadline: rolling (posted 8/20/2026)
• Economics Consulting Analyst/Associate: Charles River Associates seek Bachelor’s or Master’s degree candidates graduating December 2026/Summer 2027 with an academic focus on quantitative research for a variety of positions. Deadline: none given (posted 7/14/2026)
• Junior Data Scientist: Opportunity Insights is hiring a Data Scientist.  This work will support the development of new policies and financial models to invest in successful programs, potentially including Opportunity Capital, a new investment fund that deploys private capital to scale programs that increase economic mobility launched in 2026 by Harvard Professor Raj Chetty. Deadline: none given (posted 6/8/2026)
• Research Analyst Program (RAP): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) seeks students who have recently completed their undergraduate studies with a superior academic record and who would like to gain useful work experience before pursuing graduate studies. Deadline: none given (posted 10/6/2025)
• Compilation of job opportunities for graduating seniors interested in research-based careers​.
• NBER RA page. Aggregates RA searches by NBER fellows. 

Funding Opportunities

• URAF: The Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (URAF) calendar includes information sessions and opportunities. Many URAF programs who have historically had applications through CARAT are now operating through the Harvard University Funding Portal (HUFP).
• Harvard Culture Lab Innovation Fund: Funding opportunities for advancing diversity, inclusion, and belonging through technology driven solutions. All Harvard students, staff, faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and academic personnel are eligible to apply.
• All Harvard Fellowships from the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowship
• Harvard College Funding Sources Database
• Harvard University CARAT (Common Application for Funding and Travel)
• Harvard College: A Guide to Finding Funding
• Various links for funding opportunities in economics
• Echoing Green Fellowships for funding opportunities social entrepreneurship
• Frank N. Newman Undergraduate Research Fund in Economics, rolling acceptance
• The Davis Center for research related to Russia and Eurasia.
• Ec Dept Undergraduate Research and Travel Fund, rolling acceptance (thesis writers only)

Other Interesting Opportunities

• Seminars, Workshops, Conferences, etc:
  • CID Student Seminars: The Harvard Center for International Development (CID) offer non-credit CID Student Seminars which meet regularly during the semester to connect students with leading international development practitioners who navigate critical, cross-cutting topics within their fields.
  • Events with URAF Research Ambassadors: Have you ever wanted to talk to a classmate about their research journey? The Research Ambassadors are here for you. These four Harvard College juniors and seniors provide peer-to-peer mentoring, advising, and workshops to any undergraduate. They have all done research in different areas and bring a wide range of experience navigating Harvard’s research opportunities.
  • Zotero Workshops:  Attend a Zotero class to learn how to easily save references, organize PDFs, create in-text citations & footnotes, and create bibliographies automatically.
  • MATLAB Boot Camp: The primary objective is to familiarize students with the MATLAB computational environment.  This boot camp does not suppose any prior experience with MATLAB or computation.
  • Python Boot Camp: The Python Boot Camp is designed to provide an introduction to coding in Python. It assumes zero prior knowledge of Python or programming in general.
  • Qualitative Research Workshops: Harvard Library workshops for students interested in using qualitative data and doing interview-based research.
• Student Groups:
  • HUEA is back: The Harvard Undergraduate Economics Association is the main student-led home for undergrads to connect with the Department of Economics and with each other over our shared love of the subject. Alongside what the department offers, we run events to bring students together with faculty and peers, as well as two competitions for high schoolers. Join our mailing list to hear about what we're doing—and see how to get involved—at our website thehuea.org. Also, find us at the Student Involvement Fair on Sep 4 and follow @harvardundergradecon on Instagram. Questions: contact@thehuea.org
  • HUEA Mentorship Program: The Harvard Undergraduate Economics Association, in coordination with the Economics Department, matches small groups of undergrads with PhD student mentors (Harvard/MIT/BU) for monthly chats about courses, research, careers, grad school, and life, with  coffee/meals on us. All years and concentrations are welcome. Sign up using this form by Sunday, September 27 for first-round matching (rolling after). Questions: mentorship@thehuea.org
  • The Harvard Undergraduate Economics Association: HUEA is a forum for all students concentrating or interested in economics providing academic, professional, and social support through student mixers and intercollegiate networking events, career and internship panels, and topical discussions with faculty and professional economists.
  • Harvard Undergrads for Inclusion in Economics  (HUIE) has in past semesters worked directly with the Harvard Economics Department to create a more diverse and inclusive community within the field. The club is currently inactive, but if you would like to revive it, you can reach out to alebrun@fas.harvard.edu
• Study Abroad:
  • Interested in Study Abroad? Meet with Office of International Education (OIE) staff and student advisers during drop-ins Monday-Thursdays, 2-4pm to chat about the vast range of academic opportunities.
  • Sophomores interested in spending junior spring at Oxford or Cambridge, applications are due in January and February.
  • Enjoy coffee on the OIE with one of your fellow Economics concentrators or any of the OIE Student Advisor team members! Reach out to schedule a time to connect.
  • It’s never too early to start planning. Summer and fall term applications are due in early spring and spring term applications are due in early fall.
  • Hear from fellow Economics Concentrators who are willing to share their study abroad experiences with you.
  • Follow the Instagram stories of students abroad this term at HarvardOIE!
  • Feel free to reach out to the OIE team (oie@fas.harvard.edu) and Nicole Garcia (ngarcia@fas.harvard.edu) with any questions or concerns.
• Other:
  • Mentor at Project Access: Project Access Program offers one-on-one mentoring between less privileged applicants and current top university students. Mentors give advice on choosing universities and courses, personal statements, references, interviews, and other aspects of the application process. Deadline: none given (posted 7/23/2024)
  • Interested in Development?  Kiran Gajwani, part of our Ec Advising Team, is starting a casual discussion group for undergrads interested in issues facing lower-income countries.  Kiran is a development economist and hopes to use this group to foster connections between development-interested students within the economics concentration and across the College more broadly.  If you're interested, please fill out this super quick form! https://forms.gle/E9UpuHniH4qcJmNL7
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts seeks volunteers for their site based mentoring program. Volunteer a few hours a month on campus, at a local school, or out in the community.
• Journal Calls for Undergrad Papers:
  • AREUEA 2026–2027 Virtual Seminar Series: They welcome papers on a broad range of topics, including, but not limited to real estate economics, urban and regional economics, real estate finance, housing markets and public policy, macroeconomic and financial issues related to real estate. To be considered for the 2026–2027 series, email your paper to Eunjee Kwon at eunjee.econ.job@gmail.com by September 13, 2026. 
  • The Harvard Undergraduate Research Journal: THURJ is Harvard's sole peer-reviewed undergraduate research journal publishing a broad spectrum of research across various disciplines, allowing students to share their work with their peers; this work can include their senior theses or other significant research manuscripts. Their manuscript submissions are rolling.
• Competitions and Prizes:
  • Harvard Prize Office Prize Descriptions, for student achievements (esp. great for thesis writers: if you need to send thesis comments, contact econundergrad@fas.harvard.edu)
• Career Panels and Advice:
  • Econ RA Guide: Offers a community resource based off of current and former RAs in Economics.
• Graduate School Advertisements
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• Blogs:
  • Top Econ Blogs
  • Greg Mankiw's Blog
  • The FRED Blog Visit the blog to learn more about FRED’s database, and get tips and lessons in data literacy.